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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Here is the new ballot. Please vote your 1's and
2's and return to me by next Sunday night. Linda
<P class=MsoNormal>VANOCKA BALLOT—A small but delightful compendium</P>
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"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal>Vanocka, n.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>A prize for which the contestants do not know they are competing, and
which they would rather not win.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>(Named after Lillian Vanocka, inventor of Beano®, winner of the first
IgNobel Prize in Medicine [1991], for her research on liquids that prevent
bloat, gassiness, discomfort, and embarrassment.)</P>
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<P class=MsoNormal>Vanocka, n. Brandy distilled from honey, lemon peel, and
plums.</P>
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<P class=MsoNormal>Vanocka, n.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>(fr.
Czech, popularized by the Sokol sporting leagues)—A competition involving the
performance of fifty push-ups, fifty sit-ups, fifty jumping jacks, and a
fifty-meter dash.</P>
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<P class=MsoNormal>Vanocka, n.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>(1)
Brand name of a failed candy bar containing white chocolate, raisins, and puffed
rice, introduced by Cadbury in 1978 and withdrawn from production in 1979; (2)
confectioners’ slang for a product difficult to sell.</P>
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<P class=MsoNormal>Vanocka, n. [Gerrit van Ocka, Dutch engineer]--A device in a
wind turbine for adjusting the pitch of the blades depending on the wind speed
and desired torque.</P>
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<P class=MsoNormal>Vanocka, n.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>An
Eastern European chicken stew with dumplings.</P>
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<P class=MsoNormal>Vanocka, n.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>A
Swedish filled Christmas pastry with the top braided to resemble the swaddled
Christ Child.</P>
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<P class=MsoNormal>Vanocka, n.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Fijian for “Thank You”.</P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>